Instatim: A New Kind of Social Network

Here at the iPhone App Review, we’ve had more than our fair share of opportunities to try out new social media venus. Some of them have been good, some of them have been bad, but it’s truly a rare entity that shows genuine promise. Thankfully, Instatim, from Instatim, LLC,—the subject of today’s full-length review—gives us exactly that. If you want a deeper look at how its security and privacy can provide you with a smoother, more meaningful social experience on the iPhone, then you need only to slide on down below the break. Starting with:

Concept and Functionality

Rather than trying to provide you with about a thousand (and two) ways to contact your friends, family, and vague acquaintances, Instatim instead tries to keep things simple. The app streamlines the social media process by restricting the experience to only those people whom you have added individually. The idea here is that you’ll only add your close friends, family members, or project coworkers. In this way, Instatim already supplies you with a more meaningful networking outing.

The features that the application provides fit right into this idea. The app allows you to add quick, 100-word status updates to let your loved ones know what you’re up to. If you’d like, you can also add a location. The app uses this information to create a map of everyone you’re linked to, all at once. This is really cool, in fact, and if you can convince your family to use it, it’s quite a useful tool for keeping an eye on them. From here, you can add whether or not you’re around or occupied. You can even share specific updates that are aimed at groups of your contacts, that way you can let your family know you’ve landed safely, and your coworkers know you’re on your way to the meeting.

Design and Interface

Instatim for iPhone

We like the concept behind Instatim quite a lot: In fact, we think it’s one of our favorites thus far, and we’ve been at this reviewing game for a while. With that in mind, our only complaint is one of a design nature. The app just isn’t as slick looking as apps like Path or Twitter. It has yet to fully develop the snazz and artistic simplicity that will define its unique skill set. In other words, the app is a bit bland at the moment, though the interface is still rock-solid and will provide you with everything you need in a pinch. As time goes on, we fully expect more pop in the interface, but for now, it’s a tidy—though rustic—affair.

Overall Value

At the end of the day, though, Instatim offers an undeniable value. It’s a free application that lets you stay closer to those you care about. And at the core of it all, that’s really what we want out of social media, isn’t it? If you’re hungering for something slightly different, Instatim may just be the option you need.

Instatim requires iOS 5.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. A small expedite fee was paid to speed up the publication of this review.